Resources

Other

You Won’t Waste Your Life

Could you give your life to making Jesus known in an obscure, rural area?

This is a good question to ask ourselves. While the statistics say that an increasing percentage of the world’s population lives in cities, that doesn’t mean everyone lives in cities. Many people still live in less densely populated areas — the country, the sticks, “the highways and hedges,” we might say. Millions, even in the States, call home those small towns and wide-open spaces that don’t make it on global maps. And the people who live there, the ruralites, need the gospel.

Recent trends on the church’s mission have helpfully focused on the strategic nature of cities. Following Paul’s paradigm for ministry, urban centers have reemerged as critical in church planting and gospel renewal efforts. But this shouldn’t be to the neglect of smaller contexts, not if we are really about advancing the good news of Jesus.

In this short video, Jared Wilson, who moved from the buzzing metropolis of Nashville to a small town in Vermont, contrary to those who think giftedness is wasted in smaller contexts, encourages young men and couples to consider ministry in less notable areas.

Jonathan Parnell (@jonathanparnell) is a writer and content strategist at Desiring God, and is the lead planter of Cities Church in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, where he lives with his wife, Melissa, and their four children. He is also the co-author ofHow to Stay Christian in Seminary.